Why does Trump dislike Zelensky: because of the deal or for personal reasons?
20 February 13:51
OPINION
Political tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy have reached a peak. This coincided with Kyiv’s refusal to sign a bondage agreement on Ukrainian minerals and with talks in Saudi Arabia, where representatives of the US presidential administration met with their Russian counterparts. Komersant ukrainskyi asked domestic political analysts how to explain this hostility of the American president to Zelensky – his refusal to meekly accept any conditions or, after all, is it a personal dislike.
Trump is angry with Zelenskyy over his refusal to sign the deal
In an exclusive commentary for , political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko suggests that Trump is still talking about Zelenskyy’s “disobedience.”
“Trump is very annoyed that Zelenskyy did not sign the agreement. That’s the main reason. This is an assumption. The current aggressive attack is somewhat reminiscent of Trump’s attitude towards Denmark, Canada, Mexico, and Panama. The style of attack is similar. A slightly different form, but the principle is the same,”
– explains the political scientist.
According to him, Trump perceives Ukraine’s refusal as a personal insult and a demonstration of defiance, which is completely contrary to his style of negotiating. Fesenko notes that Zelenskyy criticized the meeting in Riyadh, which further increased the irritation of the American leader:
“Here I am so eager to reach an agreement with Putin, and Zelensky criticizes it. But tactically, I think that this pressure is an attempt in the Trumpian style to force Zelenskyy to sign this agreement. And perhaps, even more dangerously, to force him to fulfill certain agreements that may arise after Trump meets with Putin.”
Political analyst Oleg Lisny adds that Trump’s personal traits play a key role in this situation.
“Trump is a classic egocentric, even a textbook egocentric. And so, of course, he doesn’t like this [Zelensky’s refusal to obey]. This is one of the elements. The second point is that Trump is a businessman who sees everyone around him as clients. No friends, no brothers, no sisters, no allies, no, God forbid, people with common values. No. It’s a tool to get money,”
– explains Lisnyi.
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The US demand for elections in Ukraine
Another disturbing moment in the relations between Washington and Kyiv is the US demand to hold presidential elections in Ukraine despite martial law. Volodymyr Fesenko warns that this scenario poses a serious danger:
“And if not, we have a plan B, which has already been announced – to change it. Like, we are not interested in a partner like Zelensky. That is, we are not against Ukraine, but change your president, hold elections, and then everything will be fine. But everything will not be fine, because Trump will make the same demands to any new president,”
– adds the political scientist.
Experts emphasize that the insistence on elections in Ukraine during the war looks not only like diplomatic pressure, but also as an element of political blackmail on the part of Trump, who wants to demonstrate to Putin his ability to control Kyiv. Oleh Lisnyi emphasizes:
“In order to show Putin that Ukraine will do what he tells it to do. And Putin says – I want elections. No question about it. I’ll call Volodya now, and Volodya will agree. And Zelensky is not just Volodya. He is the president of Ukraine, a country at war. For a long time, and not for three years, as Trump believes, but much longer,”
– the expert explains.
What should Ukraine do?
In such a situation, experts say, Ukraine should look for strategic alternatives and not count on full US support during Trump’s second term. Fesenko notes:
“Unfortunately, we need to be objective: The United States under Trump will no longer be our main strategic partner. The question here is still a strategic one – whether the partnership will remain. Well, inertially, institutionally, I think so. And we still need to preserve at least the remnants of the partnership. But the situation has changed. And our main partner for the future should be Europe, the European Union plus Britain and Norway.”
Thus, Kyiv’s strategy should be not only to try to “convince” Washington that it is right, but also to form a stable coalition with European partners who understand Ukrainian realities and are ready to help in the long term. Experts agree that only a comprehensive diplomatic approach will help Ukraine preserve its independence and avoid dangerous compromises.
